Smith Corona
Typewriters, thermal transfer labels, thermal transfer ribbons, direct thermal labels | |
Owner | Private |
---|---|
Website | SmithCorona.com |
Smith Corona is an American manufacturer of thermal labels, direct thermal labels, and thermal ribbons used in
Once a large U.S.
Smith Corona adapted by manufacturing word processing typewriters such as the PWP 1400 model. Its competitors were
The company no longer manufactures typewriters or calculators, but does manufacture large quantities of barcode and shipping labels and the thermal ribbons used in
History
The company originated in 1886, when the Smith Premier Typewriter Company was established by
In 1889, the Smith-Premier, the first typewriter to bear the Smith name, was manufactured in Lyman C. Smith's gun factory on South Clinton Street in Syracuse, New York. Alexander T. Brown, an employee, invented the machine, and Wilbert Smith financed the construction of the prototype.[2]
Union Typewriter Company
During 1893, Smith joined with the Union Typewriter Company, a trust in Syracuse which included rival firms Remington, Caligraph, Densmore and Yost.[4]
Not long after, Union took action and blocked the Smith Premier Typewriter Company from using the new front strike design, which allowed typists to see the paper as they typed. As a result, the Smith brothers quit in 1903 and founded L. C. Smith & Bros. Typewriter Company. The new company soon released the "L.C. Smith & Bros. Model No. 2", which was an odd beginning because, a full year later, they released the "L.C. Smith & Bros. Model No. 1." Carl Gabrielson invented both models.[1][4]
In 1906, the Rose Typewriter Company of New York City marketed the first successful portable typewriter. They were bought out by Smith in 1909, renamed Standard Typewriter Company, and moved upstate to Groton, New York.[5]
Typewriter services
To promote usage of the typewriter, the company began by offering typing services at the company headquarters located at the corner of East Genesee and Washington streets in Syracuse. An advertisement on December 27, 1904, for Smith Premier typewriters, touted the Employee Department which offered services such as finding a "competent
Corona Typewriter Company
With the success of their Corona model in 1914, Standard Typewriter Company was renamed again and became the Corona Typewriter Company.[1] Smith Corona was created when L. C. Smith & Bros. united with Corona Typewriter in 1926, with L. C. Smith & Bros. making office typewriters and Corona Typewriter making portables.[1]
World War II M1903A3 bolt-action rifles
Production shifted from typewriters to various military weapons and parts during
Rifle production ceased on February 19, 1944, when supplies of standard M1 Garand rifles were considered adequate. Some of the rifles were never issued, while others were reconditioned in government armories after service use. Reconditioned rifles often have substituted parts from Remington or Springfield manufacture. Most rifles were stored after the war until many were sold through the Civilian Marksmanship Program in the early 1960s.[7]
Mid-century
After the war, the company concentrated on making its typewriters more convenient and efficient for use in business offices. Typewriter sales peaked after World War II; in response to a demand for typewriters capable of faster output, Smith Corona introduced
In a diversification move into the wider office technology sector, Smith Corona purchased
1960 also saw the company's first foray into the
. Still on the acquisition trail, SCM acquired the St. Louis Microstatic Company in 1961. This merger gave rise to the Model 33 Electrostatic Copier, which went on sale in April 1962.Thus by the mid-1960s SCM had become a major supplier to the office equipment market, offering photocopiers, typewriters and calculating machines.
In 1962, Smith Corona changed its corporate name to SCM Corporation and adopted the tribar SCM logo. In 1967, SCM purchased the
The "Letterpack" product of 1967 was a handset on which personal voice messages could be recorded on small tape cartridges which could be mailed to the recipient (who needed another handset to replay it). The cartridges lasted 3, 6 or 10 minutes, and a pair of handsets cost $70.
In 1965, SCM was instrumental in developing smaller computers for the business market. The basic computer consisted of an electric typewriter, plug boards, card readers, paper and mag tape readers. The client would purchase a computer and programs specifically designed for their operation. This data processing division was eventually sold to Control Data Corporation in the early '70s.
In 1966, SCM bought the consumer product company
In 1973, the company constructed a new typewriter manufacturing facility in Singapore — with 1,300 employees.
Cartridge ribbon
In 1973, SCM introduced a cartridge ribbon which eliminated the long-standing problem of getting ink-stained fingers from hand-threading a replacement spool of inked ribbon.
Financial problems
The calculator market collapsed with the advent of inexpensive electronic pocket calculators in the mid-1970s. The typewriter market also faced competition from less expensive imported typewriters, particularly typewriters from Brother Industries, Nakajima and Silver Seiko Ltd..
This was a contributing factor in the closure of the
The company moved its remaining typewriter manufacturing operations from Cortland to
Thermal label market
After being acquired by a private company during its second bankruptcy in 2000,
See also
- Data Recall Diamond
- Olivetti Lettera 22
- Olivetti Lettera 32
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Smith Corona's Corporate History". Smith Corona Inc.
- ^ a b "New York, Syracuse". Atlantis, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ^ a b "Typing in Tompkins – Peerless". The History Center in Tompkins County, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
- ^ New York, New York: Random House.
- Syracuse Journal. Syracuse, New York. March 20, 1939.
- Syracuse Journal. Syracuse, New York. December 27, 1904.
- ^ a b Canfield, Bruce N. American Rifleman (April 2010), pp. 56–57 & 80–82
- ^ "Smith Corona Planning Merger with Marchant Calculators Inc". The Old Calculator Museum. New York Times. 7 April 1958. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
- ^ "Smith Corona Cutting 750 Jobs As Sales Decline", Company News, The New York Times, May 9, 1995
- ^ Zuckerman, Laurence, "Smith Corona, A Computer Victim, Files For Bankruptcy, The New York Times, July 6, 1995
- ^ "New Bankruptcy Filing by Smith Corona", The New York Times